Tuesday, April 10, 2012

New research for Cuprinol suggests that 30 per cent of Britons who own a shed describe it as their top inspirational place, so to celebrate the wood care specialists and sponsors of Shed of the Year competition have commissioned celebrity shed lovers to create their ultimate garden havens. I was very honoured to be among those selected for this and you can see the design for my office shed (painted in Maple Leaf) in Verulamium Park, St Albans (it's just by the Inn on the Park, near the tennis courts).

The other fine folk taking part are:
* Christian O’Connell- his 80s shed is on display at Yorkshire Sculpture Park and has been coloured using Cuprinol Garden Shades Pink Honeysuckle™
* Joanne Harris - whose sky shed is in Wales on the Lleyn Peninsula and has been coloured using Cuprinol Garden Shades Forget Me Not™ and Beaumont Blue™
* Vic Reeves - his Museum shed is on show in Northumberland and has been coloured using Cuprinol Garden Shades Sea Grass™
* Sarah Beeny - her Kings Head pub shed is in Rufford Park, Nottingham and has been coloured using Cuprinol Garden Shades Beaumont Blue™

The bespoke dens were created in conjunction with a team of artists, carpenters and stylists who helped bring the individual shed creations to life. Locations throughout the UK were then carefully picked, with each shed then transported across Briton to the stunning view points.

The sheds aim to provide inspirational places for budding sheddies to visit and also encourage them to transform their own garden dens into creative spots where they can work or enjoy some time out from their busy lives. The Cuprinol research also found the average Brit who owns a shed spends five months of their life in it, with a further 40 per cent of shed owners admitting to using it as an extension of the home, for everything from taking time out from the family to carrying out their hobbies.

My own feeling it that it's great that more and more people are
realising the potential of the trusty garden shed which can be a
fantastic place to work. I’m hoping this will inspire even more people
to work from their garden retreat or just realise that sheds are a
fantastic place to take time out from everyday life.